U.S. patent application number 13/022806 was filed with the patent office on 2012-08-09 for onboard maintenance system network optimization.
Invention is credited to Jonathan Mark Dunsdon, Mark Thomson.
Application Number | 20120203401 13/022806 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46601209 |
Filed Date | 2012-08-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120203401 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dunsdon; Jonathan Mark ; et
al. |
August 9, 2012 |
Onboard Maintenance System Network Optimization
Abstract
An aircraft communication system includes an aircraft component,
an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) unit, an Onboard Maintenance
System (OMS), and a switch. The switch routes data provided by the
aircraft component via a first communications protocol to the IMA
unit, and mirrors the routed data to the OMS via a second
communications protocol. The OMS processes and stores the received
data, part of the received data, or the results of said
processing.
Inventors: |
Dunsdon; Jonathan Mark;
(Evesham, GB) ; Thomson; Mark; (Kentwood,
MI) |
Family ID: |
46601209 |
Appl. No.: |
13/022806 |
Filed: |
February 8, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
701/3 ;
370/282 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 7/18506 20130101;
B64D 2045/0085 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
701/3 ;
370/282 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20110101
G06F019/00; H04B 1/44 20060101 H04B001/44 |
Claims
1. An aircraft communication system comprising: an aircraft
component configured to provide data; an Integrated Modular
Avionics unit configured to receive the provided data; an Onboard
Maintenance System configured to receive the provided data; and a
switch configured to: receive the data provided by the aircraft
component, route the provided data to the Integrated Modular
Avionics unit, and mirror the provided data to the Onboard
Maintenance System.
2. The aircraft communication system of claim 1 wherein the switch
is configured to route the data from the aircraft component to the
Integrated Modular Avionics unit via a first communications
protocol and mirrors the data to the Onboard Maintenance System in
a second communications protocol.
3. The aircraft communication system of claim 1 wherein the first
communications protocol is ARINC 664 part 7 or Avionics Full Duplex
Switched Ethernet at 100 megabits per second.
4. The aircraft communication system of claim 1 wherein the second
communications protocol is Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) 802 at 1 gigabit per second.
5. The aircraft communication system of claim 1 wherein the
Integrated Modular Avionics unit is further configured to provide
commands to the aircraft component via the switch.
6. The aircraft communication system of claim 1 wherein the Onboard
Maintenance System is configured to store the data mirrored to the
Onboard Maintenance System by the switch for up to 100 flights of
an aircraft comprising the aircraft communication system.
7. An aircraft communications switch comprising: a switching fabric
configured to route data via a first communications protocol from
an origin to a first destination; and a port configured to provide
routed data to a second destination via a second communications
protocol.
8. The aircraft communications switch of claim 7 wherein the first
communications protocol is ARINC 664 part 7 or Avionics Full Duplex
Switched Ethernet at 100 megabits per second.
9. The aircraft communications switch of claim 7 wherein the second
communications protocol is Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) 802 at 1 gigabit per second.
10. The aircraft communications switch of claim 7 wherein the
origin is an aircraft component.
11. The aircraft communications switch of claim 7 wherein the
destination is an Integrated Modular Avionics unit
12. The aircraft communications switch of claim 7 wherein the first
destination is an Integrated Modular Avionics unit configured to
provide commands to the origin via the switching fabric.
13. The aircraft communications switch of claim 7 wherein the
second destination is an Onboard Maintenance System configured to
store data mirrored to the Onboard Maintenance System via the port
for up to 100 flights of an aircraft comprising the aircraft
communications switch.
14. A method of communicating data on board an aircraft, said
method comprising: providing data from an aircraft component to a
switch; routing the provided data from the switch to an Integrated
Modular Avionics unit of the aircraft; and mirroring the provided
data from the switch to an Onboard Maintenance System of the
aircraft.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the switch is configured to
route the data from the aircraft component to the Integrated
Modular Avionics unit via a first communications protocol and
mirror the data to the Onboard Maintenance System in a second
communications protocol.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the first communications
protocol is ARINC 664 part 7 or Avionics Full Duplex Switched
Ethernet at 100 megabits per second.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the second communications
protocol is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) 802 at 1 gigabit per second.
18. The method of claim 14 wherein the origin is an aircraft
component.
19. The method of claim 14 wherein the destination is an Integrated
Modular Avionics unit
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the Integrated Modular Avionics
unit is configured to provide commands to the aircraft component
via the switch, and the Onboard Maintenance System is configured to
store data mirrored to the Onboard Maintenance System by the switch
for up to 100 flights of an aircraft comprising the aircraft
communication system.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Modern aircraft include an aircraft communications network
for transferring data generated by sensors on aircraft components
(e.g., altimeters, engines, landing gear, flaps, inclinometers,
etc.) to an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) unit or cabinet on
the aircraft. The aircraft communications network also transfers
commands from the IMA unit to aircraft components. To pass the
demanding tests aircraft are subjected to, the communications
network on the aircraft uses ARINC 664 part 7 communications
protocol or a derivative thereof such as Airbus's trademarked
Avionics Full Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX). These communications
protocols require switches and network components specific to the
protocol.
[0002] Aircraft designers and engineers collect data from aircraft
in service in order to refine the aircraft and guide future
designs. The collected data is also used by the original equipment
manufacturer, operator, and maintenance personnel to support
maintenance operations on the aircraft. The data is collected and
stored in an Onboard Maintenance System (OMS). One method for
getting the data to the OMS includes running applications on the
IMA unit of the aircraft which extract data and send it to the OMS
for storage. This requires additional General Processing Modules
(GPMs) in the IMA unit and adds traffic to the existing aircraft
communications network which may already be near or at
capacity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In one embodiment, an aircraft communication system includes
an aircraft component, an IMA unit, an OMS, and a switch. The
switch routes data provided by the aircraft component to the IMA
unit, and mirrors the routed data to the OMS.
[0004] In another embodiment, an aircraft communications switch
includes a switching fabric and a port. The switching fabric routes
data from an origin to a first destination (e.g. an IMA unit) via a
first communications protocol. The port provides the routed data to
a second destination (e.g., an OMS) via a second communications
protocol.
[0005] In another embodiment, a method of communicating data on
board an aircraft begins with providing data from an aircraft
component to a switch. The provided data is routed from the switch
to an Integrated Modular Avionics unit of the aircraft and mirrored
from the switch to an OMS of the aircraft.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood when the following
detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout
the drawings.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an aircraft communication
system according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a method for communicating data
on board an aircraft according to an embodiment of the
invention.
[0009] Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings provided herein are
meant to illustrate key inventive features of the invention. These
key inventive features are believed to be applicable in a wide
variety of systems comprising one or more embodiments of the
invention. As such, the drawings are not meant to include all
conventional features known by those of ordinary skill in the art
to be required for practice of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] In the following specification and the claims, reference
will be made to a number of terms, which shall be defined to have
the following meanings
[0011] The singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural
references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0012] "Optional" or "optionally" means that the subsequently
described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the
description includes instances where the event occurs and instances
where it does not.
[0013] Approximating language, as used herein throughout the
specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative
representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a
change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a
value modified by a term or terms, such as "about" and
"substantially", are not to be limited to the precise value
specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language
may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the
value. Here and throughout the specification and claims, range
limitations may be combined and/or interchanged, such ranges are
identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless
context or language indicates otherwise.
[0014] In one embodiment, an Onboard Maintenance System (OMS) is
not critical to the in flight operation of an aircraft. Therefore,
data transmission to the OMS may permit some level of packet loss
not permissible with other systems such as an Integrated Modular
Avionics (IMA) unit of the aircraft. Therefore, lower integrity
communications may be used to transmit data from systems of the
aircraft to the OMS. Further, because the OMS is not part of the
IMA unit, which is considered critical to the in flight operation
of the aircraft, data stored therein is not subject to the strict
requirements of the IMA unit and lower integrity, higher volume
storage media may be used.
[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, an aircraft communications system 102
includes an IMA unit 104, a plurality of aircraft components (i.e.,
a first aircraft component 108 and a second aircraft component
112), a switch 110, and an OMS 114. The aircraft components 108 and
112 send data to the IMA unit 104 via a switch 110 and a first
communications protocol such as ARINC 664 part 7 protocol at 100
megabits per second. In one embodiment, the data includes fault
data, parametric data, and operating condition data. Additional
first communications protocols are contemplated to be within the
scope of the invention such as the Avionics Full Duplex Switched
Ethernet (AFDX) which is owned by and a trademark of Airbus.
[0016] The switch 110 receives the data, routes the data via an
internal switching fabric utilizing the first communications
protocol, and sends the data to the IMA unit 104 via a plurality of
ports 118 operating on the first communications protocol. A General
Processing Module (GPM) 106 of the IMA unit 104 processes the data
and may return commands to the aircraft components 108, 112 via the
switch 110 and the first communications protocol.
[0017] The switch 110 also includes a port 116 communicating via a
second communications protocol with the OMS 114. In one embodiment,
the second communications protocol is Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 at 1 gigabit per second. Other
second communications protocols are contemplated within the scope
of the invention such as IEEE 802 at 100 megabit per second and
other IEEE 802.3 variants, particularly IEEE 802.3ab, depending on
the amount of data to be transmitted to the OMS 114.
[0018] In one embodiment, the switch 110 mirrors all data having an
aircraft component 108, 112 as an origin and the IMA unit 104 as
the destination to the OMS 114. In another embodiment, the switch
110 mirrors all received packets containing data to the OMS 114. In
one embodiment, the OMS 114 stores all of the received data, while
in other embodiments, the OMS 114 processes the data and stores
only a selected portion of the received data, processes the data
and stores only the results of said processing, or stores the data
in a lossless compressed format. In one embodiment, the data is
stored on a solid state memory device such as a Secure Digital (SD)
memory card. In one embodiment, the OMS 114 stores the data for the
last 100 flight operations of the aircraft.
[0019] It is contemplated that multiple switches may simultaneously
mirror data to the OMS 114 and that a switch utilizing the second
communications protocol in its switching fabric may be used to
route the data to the OMS 114.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 2, a method of communicating data on board
an aircraft 200 begins at 202. At 202, an aircraft component
transmits data to an IMA unit of the aircraft via a switch and a
first communications protocol. At 204, the switch mirrors the
received data, and at 206, the switch transmits the received data
to an OMS of the aircraft via a second communications protocol.
[0021] Exemplary embodiments of systems and methods for aircraft
communications systems are described above in detail. The system
and methods are not limited to the specific embodiments described
herein, but rather, components of systems and/or steps of the
method may be utilized independently and separately from other
components and/or steps described herein.
[0022] Although specific features of various embodiments of the
invention may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is
for convenience only. Moreover, references to "one embodiment" in
the above description are not intended to be interpreted as
excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also
incorporate the recited features. In accordance with the principles
of the invention, any feature of a drawing may be referenced and/or
claimed in combination with any feature of any other drawing.
[0023] This written description uses examples to disclose the
invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and
using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the
claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled
in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope
of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ
from the literal language of the claims, or if they include
equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from
the literal languages of the claims.
* * * * *